Pakistan's Musharraf arrested after escape from court

ISLAMABAD -- Police arrested former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf overnight at his home in the capital, where he had holed up following a dramatic escape from court to avoid being detained, officials said Friday.

Musharraf fled Islamabad High Court in a speeding vehicle Thursday morning after a judge rejected his bail and ordered his arrest in connection with a case involving his decision to fire senior judges while in power. It was a new low in Musharraf's troubled return from self-imposed exile last month to make a political comeback in the upcoming parliamentary election.

Police arrested Musharraf overnight and presented him before a judge at Islamabad District Court this morning, police officer Mohammed Khalid said. Local TV footage showed Musharraf entering district court in Islamabad amid a heavy security detachment of police and paramilitary soldiers.

The district court judge instructed police to keep Musharraf in their custody for two days and then present him before an anti-terrorism court, said one of his lawyers, Malik Qamar Afzal.

It's unclear if he will be held at his heavily fortified home on the outskirts of Islamabad or somewhere else.

Musharraf's legal team has said they will challenge the arrest order in the Supreme Court Friday.

Musharraf seized power in a coup in 1999 and spent nearly a decade in power before being forced to step down in 2008. He returned last month after four years in self-imposed exile in London and Dubai despite legal challenges and Taliban death threats.